March is a month of renewal in Korea. Children can be heard in the hustle and bustle getting ready for a new school year.

Today my daughter starts the 3rd grade. Although my memory fails me about the 3rd grade, I'm sure her feeling of expectancy was every much as mine was back in September 1978.

My wife's niece Hae-ran starts her first grade in high school. I'm sure she is filled with a certain amount of hopefullness and anxiety as I was back in September 1985. Hae-ran, I wish you good luck.

A new semester begins in universities throughout Korea today too.

My first freshman class is at 2:30pm. I will be sure to smile and reassure my 1st year students, but at the same time lay the line to them.

According to the North American calendar, Spring begins 18 days later. However, while walking to my office on Saturday, I could see a few flowers on trees pushing their petals forward as to welcome the world.

Like the petals I saw on Saturday, may we too greet the world with such optimism and hope.

Assalaamu Alaykum my brothers and sisters. Greetings to all my friends.

My mother Bernadette Barbara Guilfoyle passed away on January 30th, 2009.

Actually, the pathologist wasn't exactly sure when she passed away because he couldn't perform an autopsy.

As many of you know, my parents were divorced and my mother lived alone.

Unfortunately, my mother wasn't seeking medical care for her Leukemia in St. John's, N.L. for over a year. She believed that the doctors had it out for her. Unfortunately, she had more than just Leukemia.

I recieved the news from my father on February 10th. (Her body was discovered around February 6th or 7th.)

Naturally it wasn't very easy for me taking the news.

I got things in order for mty trip as quick as I could and left Busan, South Korea on February 11th Anyway, I arrived in St. John's at 3:30am on February 12th.

When I got to the airport, I was unpleasantly shocked when I cpouldn't find my luggage.

When I finally got my luggage late that evening, I noticed that Air Canada had cut the locks out of one suitcase.

Anyway, I went to the funeral home on Thursday and picked out an urn for my mother and prepared for Friday the 13th.

On Friday the 13th, myself, father and sister recieved people paying their last respects to my mother.

On Valentine's Day (one of my mother's favorite days) a service was held in the chapel of the funeral home and my mother's remains were transported to the cemetary.

It was a cold and windy day, but at least it wasn't raining or snowing.

Many people showed up which was comforting.

On Monday February 16th, myself and my father went to a marbel and granite shop where I picked out a head stone for my mother. While picking it out, I made sure to choose one without direct religious symbolism. After all, headstones are over priced. In addition, who do they comfort? The deceased can't recieve comfort from them. The only people who recieve comfort from them are the living.

Anyway, I am back in Korea and my thinking continues.

I don't know, but I think I'm going to go crazy with my allergies/stuffy nose. I wake up in the middle of the night with a stuffy/runny nose.

I've been taking traditional Korean medicine, but it either doesn't work enough or takes too long to work.

So after 3 weeks, I finally visited an ENT. I guess what I need now is some rest and citron.

Assalaamu Alaykum. Hello to all.

I know I haven't been a good friend to all my friends on Yahoo 360 and Multiply.

I stopped using Multiply because the number of E-mails Iwould get in my E-mail inbox everyday was almost unmanageable. I guess I don't know how to use the settings properly. Also, Yahoo 360 has been acting so strange. I have tried making posts in the past only to have them disappear when I hit enter.

In closing, things are ok and I will do my best to to get back to you all in due time.

May Allah bless all of you.

Ameen.